Another solstice snuck up behind me on soft little feet, all laughing and tinkling bells and teasing rain. For the last two days, storms have come and gone, and dropped nary a thimbleful on my garden. We had one of the most magical springs seen in a long, long time down here. Lots of sweet rain that brought hopes that this summer could be one of those lush, green affairs that so many people seem to have forgotten that Austin is capable of experiencing. I’m holding out for hope that the land will be rejuvenated, that the swimming holes will stay full and deep, that our gardens won’t wither. I’m wishing for rain again, but this year most of my wishes are for me, to help me grow stronger, be wiser, more patient, more kind. I’m saying yes more – doing things that scare me, finding ways to make myself happy. It’s not easy, but if it were it wouldn’t be worth as much, maybe. Hard won joy, in little snippets. All I’m asking is to be showered in those snippets like confetti – seems like a reasonable enough request to me! What are you wishing for today?

Merry Summer Solstice to you and yours, from me and mine.

If wishes were horses…

A summer solstice bouquet (some grown, some purloined on a neighborhood walk) – foxgloves, honeysuckle, verbena, salvia, coralvine, snapdragons, plumbago, bougainvillea, zinnia, basil, scullcap, and a sunflower. I’ve discovered recently that lots of people don’t know the names of flowers – I mean, not even their common names! Maybe they grew up in the city, or just were never curious – which is fine, but I just forget that someone wouldn’t just know. I realize that not everyone is interested in gardening or plants, but I find it extremely strange when I see people who don’t know what a poppy or a passionflower is. I don’t think of those things as obscure, but then – I grew up in a household where lots of what I would discover later was obscure knowledge was considered commonplace. I remember even when I didn’t care about growing my own things – but I did still know the names of things, even if I was still too prissy or consumed with other stuff to get my hands dirty. I can’t imagine not having a garden now – I’d be so miserable without all this verdure growing wild all around me!

My little tattered friend. He stayed on my finger, and then my shoulder for a long time. Lots of talk of butterflies and cocoons. Last summer, we had hardly any butterflies. This year, there are more. No swallowtail larvae or orange dogs, threatening us with their osmeterium, alas – we do so like to harrass them.

Tough guy butterfly eye.

From my studio window.

My own sweet hollyhocks – I’m so proud to have finally achieved my goal of growing hollyhocks taller than me!
If anyone wants seeds, I have loads – just holler, and I’ll mail you some.

Lilies and Louise in my kitchen.

In my sister’s kitchen in New York where I was a secret guest for a night, having snuck in to surprise her!

I’m so glad I got to be in the city in the springtime – and especially for cherry-blossom fantasyland! Few sights are more marvelous. I’d love to see them in D.C., and especially for the sakura festivals in Japan. One day!

I love blown-out exploded tulips. Something about seeing such prim flowers let loose and become so dissolute. It’s very, very sexy.

Speaking of, you know what’s better than roses on your piano?

I want this ice-cream truck to follow me aroud everywhere I go, blaring all my favorite summer jams, and giving free ice cream to everyone. That’s my other solstice wish. Maybe it could play this song, my favorite from Hello Lovers. I think it’s one of the most romantic songs ever. It makes me think of those long teenage summers when we’d sneak out at night to do drugs and make love on picnic tables in the Botanical Gardens. Also, of my sister’s birthday when she was so sad and then the entire band and then some filed into her tiny bedroom and serenaded her with that very song while she sat in bed with a chocolate cake. I’m not sure how everyone fit (there was a tuba player and everything!), but they did somehow, and it was one of the most magical things I’ve ever witnessed.

Hello Lovers – Public Garden

Another favorite. My mama used to sing me this lullaby when I was very, very small:

Nick Cave & Current 93 – All The Pretty Little Horses

Lau made another mix, and it is an excellent strange summer day soundtrack:

I had that same thing about growing up and learning that the knowledge I got from my family was fairly esoteric. I know the names if most flowers and when folks come in to the tattoo shop to get flower tattoos I always amaze them with how many varieties of poppies or lilies I know. And why shouldnt I? A calla is very different from a stargazer, right?

Such lovely imagery! I know we don’t know each other, but would it be too forward to request some of your magical Hollyhock seeds? I’ve just found that my mother has purchased what can only be described as a ‘Gingerbread House’ and wouldn’t Hollyhocks be appropriate in the yard? I think so.
I’d send a token in return.